


Loss Of A Rose

by WitchesBrew



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Murder Mystery, Ramsay is his own warning, Thramsay - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-20
Packaged: 2018-05-14 06:39:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5733268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WitchesBrew/pseuds/WitchesBrew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In crowds of insecure, cackling, fighting and unfocused young people, murder might for the right killer be a piece of cake, but the detection of the crime surely isn't. Especially not when each of these self-righteous teenagers seem to have their own personal opinion of who the murderer might be.</p><p>When a terrible crime shocks Aegon High the students immediately get obsessed with solving the case. Grudges, curses and enmity are thrown into the pot of anxiety and suspiciousness, and soon everyone seems guilty.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The silence in the dark restroom was deafening.

Ramsay had recently made up a new game for his own amusement, telling Theon to only use the girls’ restroom whenever he needed to go during school time. Now Theon was relieving himself in silence, trembling and praying that he would finish before anyone turned up. He even had to sit down when he peed, in case someone should get a glimpse of his feet underneath the stall door. Having just finished and pulled up his pants, he froze as he heard someone tumble into the room. He leaped to a crouch on top of the toilet and held his breathe. He knew how Ramsay was already having a great time out in the hall, fully aware that Theon wasn’t alone anymore.

"What the fuck, Sansa?"

Theon immediately recognised the velvety voice of Margaery Tyrell. Even though she was swearing, her voice was calm and gentle as always, a stark contrast to Sansa's, who sounded like she was about to explode from pent-up rage.

"I'm done with your childish and attention-demanding games, Marge!! Who the fuck do you think you are!?"

"Sweetest Sansa, you know I didn...."

"Don't you try to smooth talk me, bitch! You know exactly what you did as well as why! This game isn't new to any of us, but this time, you seriously crossed the line!! This is way too fucked up, even for YOU!"

"You can't possibly tell me you hadn't seen this coming. Your brother i..."

"SHUT UP!! YOU LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE, YOU MANIPULATIVE SLUT!!"

"If that's how you want it, then FINE! I need space from you and your aimless, halfbreed family anyway!"

The sounds of curses, swirling fists and cries that followed made it clear to Theon that this had definitely been the last straw for Sansa. He clenched the tank tighter by the sound of the scuffle and nearly fell from the toilet in fright when a shiny necklace came sliding underneath the door, hitting the porcelain underneath him with a loud clank.

A cry of victory and the sound of a sobbing Margaery fleeing out the door indicated that Sansa had won the fight. Feeling his entire body tremble, Theon hid his face in his arms, begging that this would be enough to hide him, should Sansa try to retrieve the necklace.

She didn't though. Theon could hear her moving about outside the stall, apparently washing her hands and tidying herself up. A few minutes went by, then she left the room and everything was again silent.

Theon held his position for a while before he timidly climbed down and picked up the necklace. It was a gold, vintage locket with a beautiful picture of a smiling Sansa inside it. Theon stared at it for a moment, wondering whether to give it back to Margaery, or maybe to Sansa. Perhaps he could give it to Jon, say he found it in the hall and at the same time ask how Sansa was doing, trying to figure out what this was about. Margaery and Sansa had been best friends for as long as Theon could remember. He had never seen them act anything like this before, and it scared him.

His thoughts were interrupted by Ramsay knocking on the door. Tucking the necklace into his pocket, Theon quickly washed his hands before hurrying out of the restroom. 

As expected, when he entered the hall, Ramsay was waiting for him, leaned against the wall with a huge smile on his face and a cigarette between his lips.

“So, did you enjoy yourself? Any nice ladies this time?”

“No…” Hoping to hide his blush, Theon crouched to pick up the pile of books placed on the floor next to Ramsay. Ramsay had broken his backpack a week ago, and hadn’t given him a new one yet. Instead, Theon had to carry all his school items around in his arms.

“Stop lying to me, Reek. I know as well as you that both Sansa and Margaery were in there. I heard them yelling, what was it about?”

“I don’t know... “ Theon mumbled, unable to shrug his shoulders under the weight of his books. “...They just seemed to have a regular girl fight, you know, like… girls have.”

“Hmm… I might have to consider making you use the boys' room again, before you grow a cunt.”

When they reached the door to Theon’s classroom, Ramsay took a last drag on his cigarette and released the smoke into Theon’s face, before stubbing it out on his pile of books. “See you after class, bitch.” Theon gazed at Ramsay’s broad back as he proceeded down the hall and disappeared into another room.

As Theon entered the classroom and dropped all of his items on the table closest to the door, he immediately felt Jon’s eyes observing him from the far end of the room. He slumped into the chair before hesitatingly glancing back at him over his shoulder. Jon was already on his way towards him, almost falling over one of the girls' bags in utter eagerness to reach Theon. He smacked a package on top of Theon’s items on the table and crouched down in front of him.

“What is this…?” Confusion was written all over Theon’s face as he stared at the package in front of him, wrapped in old newspapers and sealed with duct tape.

Leaning against the table, his chin resting on his arms, Jon stared at Theon with a huge, excited smile on his face. "It's a gift, silly!"

Theon lowered his head a bit, trying to hide another blush as he suddenly felt everyone’s eyes on them. Jon didn’t seem to mind though.

“Open it!” he encouraged and started tearing off the paper himself, apparently too excited to wait for Theon to get moving.

From inside all the layers of newspaper Jon pulled out a red backpack. It was clearly worn and Jon had probably bought it at a thrift shop or found it in a lost-and-found bin somewhere. Apparently he had tried to clean it, as there were no noticeable spots and the worn fabric now had a scent of flowers.

Theon wrapped himself around Jon's head in a grateful yet gawky embrace, thanking him wholeheartedly. He was too delighted to think about Ramsay's reaction at the moment, and as he saw the cheerful look on Jon’s face too, he decided to postpone asking about Sansa.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains two graphic text-pieces in the middle of the text. If they don't show up, please let me know :)

When the bell rang Theon was always the first one to leave the classroom and today wasn’t any different. Stuffing his items into the new backpack so hectic it caused him to drop half the books on the floor, he fumbled around his table before rushing out the door.

He waited in patience in the hall until Ramsay appeared next to him. Awaiting Ramsay's verdict over the packback, Theon clenched the shoulder strap, merely looking at his feet. He felt Ramsay's condemning eyes on him, and was surprised when Ramsay simply ordered Theon to follow him to the lockers. 

Ramsay's latest method of controlling Theon was having them share the same locker at school. That way Theon would have to seek him out in between classes in order to get his books for the upcoming lessons. As with anything else, the new locker situation wasn't just another way for Ramsay to control him though. It also worked as a game for him. Ramsay would sometimes hide from him or simply stay in his own classroom, ignoring Theon anxiously wandering around out in the hall, waiting for Ramsay to come out to him. On these occasions Theon had to go to class without the proper books or homework. Eventually, he had started carrying more of his items with him, in case Ramsay chose to play his game. However, Theon was pretty sure Ramsay had already seen through him, and that was why he had broken his backpack the week before. Jon had of course noticed something was up, but Ramsay had forbidden Theon to tell him, so he simply shut his mouth every time Jon asked about it. Theon's locker had been taken over by someone else, but every time he passed by, it made him feel sad, reminding him of a time where Ramsay didn't monitor him everywhere he went.

Theon patiently waited while Ramsay switched some of his books and lit another smoke. He slammed the door shut and was about to move along when he saw Theon's anxious expression. "What?" 

“I need some other books... for when I have to wait at the library…"

Grumbling, Ramsay unlocked his locker and grabbed a couple of heavy books and smacked them against Theon’s chest, hard enough for him to drop both of them. “Here. You can start on my Literature paper. I’ll text you the specifics.”

Impatiently observing Theon pick up the books from the floor, Ramsay continued, “I’m seeing the guys after class, so I’ll pick you up at 5.”

Theon nodded, promising to be ready by then before moving towards the library. He felt Ramsay's icy gaze follow him all the way down the hallway.  

_______

  
Ramsay’s paper on postmodern American literature turned out to be an interesting assignment, and writing it was easier than he had expected. He had the library for himself and the new librarian was eager to help him find more books on the subject. Other students found her to be very strict and scary, but she was always kind to Theon. She had made it a habit to offer Theon some kind of beverage each time he showed up. In the beginning he had politely declined, but it seemed he didn't really have a say in the matter. She would bring him cup of something anyway, along with a warm, comforting smile. Today she had offered him a cup of hot cocoa and Theon allowed himself a short break to enjoy it. 

As he gazed out the window, watching other students enjoying themselves in the afternoon sun, Theon smiled at the thought of Jon's cheerful expression earlier that day. He put the cup aside an picked the red backpack up from the floor. After emptying all of his items onto the table, he started rearranging them into the bag. However, as he was groping around to make room for all the books, his hand felt something unusual. Edges and a bulge at the bottom of he bag indicated a hidden item between the layers of fabric. Emptying the bag again, Theon almost dug his entire head into it to find out what it was. A small hole in the corner made it possible to rip open the seam with the help of a ruler.   

From the space in between the fabric he drew out a small, thick book, bound in soft, brown leather. It was clearly worn from years use and didn’t look like anything from this or the past century. It was made from bound pages of parchment, of which a large amount was loose, and letters had been partly carved and colored into the leather front. The words looked latin, but Theon couldn't make them out.

  
 

  
Ensuring that no one was watching him, Theon began flipping through the pages. Each page was crowded with notations in a Gothic script. The words were written in English as well as languages he didn’t know nor recognised.  Some words even seemed to be spelled out halfway in glyphs. The texts varied from short formulas to longer descriptions or guidelines, some of them illustrated with geometric symbols or fading drawings of plants. His eyes stopped at a list of unknown capitalized words, followed by weird symbols. 

When it dawned on him that he was in fact reading about elements in demonic ceremonies, he felt af cold shiver down his spine. Quickly, he skipped to another chapter. 

Time went by quickly as he was lured deeper into the enchanting texts in the book. A dechipering of the English texts revealed magical formulas, incantations, recipes for herbal treatments as well as information on gems, planets and fortune-telling. 

Theon was engrossed in recipes on different potions when he was interrupted by an angry cry from the librarian. "Excuse me young man, you're not allowed to smoke in here! Either you put out that cigaret this instance or get out of here!"

Hearing that, Theon immediately slammed the spell book shut and pushed it underneath some of the other books on the table. Rising from his chair, he spun around to see Ramsay rushing towards him with a dangerous look on his face, the smoke still lit between his lips. Theon automatically flinched.

Ramsay stopped just before him, so close that he had to take a step back to avoid the cigarette from burning his skin. "What the FUCK are you still doing here?! Didn't I say 5 o'clock?!" 

"I-I..." Theon glanced at the clock on the wall at the far end of the library. It showed 5.13. "I'm sorry Ramsay! I was writing your paper, I-I lost track of time, please, I'm so sorry!"

"You boneheaded jerk, now you can't even tell time?! And what the fuck is this??" As Ramsay picked up the cup still half filled with cocoa, Theon couldn't help but tremble and pulled a bit further away, convinced that Ramsay would throw it in his face.

"Answer me, Reek! Who gave you this?!?"

"...Sh-she did..." Pointing towards the librarian's desk that Ramsay had just passed by, he felt his eyes tearing up. "Please Ramsay, don..."

His piercing gaze cut into Theon like knives and made him silent immediately. 

"I'm having a chat with her, and you better be waiting in the car when I'm done, get it? And don't you dare bring that disgusting bag with you! It goes in the bin by the door. Go!"

Knowing that none of this was up for discussion Theon scraped all of his stuff together and ran towards the door. As he stuffed the backpack into the trash bin he heard Ramsay swearing at the librarian for offering Theon the cocoa, shouting something about diabetes. Dropping some items on the way and having to run back to get them, the way to the car felt like a hunt and Theon ran as if for his life. By the time Ramsay returned to the car, Theon had curled himself up on the floor behind the driver's seat, knowing that Ramsay at certain moods wanted to feel as if he had the ride home for himself. It seemed to work, as Ramsay didn't scold nor say anything else all the way home.  

 

________ 

  
Theon had to clean all the floors in the house on his knees and only with use of a small sponge, followed by a rough beating for each room, before Ramsay decided that he had learned his lesson on not receiving anything from anyone without Ramsay's permission.

Afterwards, Theon spent the rest of the evening in the basement. Curled up on a mattress in the corner, he wrapped himself in a blanket and tried to ignore the rumbling sound of his stomach. 

Ramsay had at least allowed him to use the lamp so he could finish their homework. However, when he searched through the pile of books on the ground before him, his focus changed as he got hold of the old spell book. Luckily Ramsay hadn't taken that away from him yet, as Theon had been careful to hide it between the other books. He was ahead of time on both Ramsay's and his own homework this week, so he quickly agreed with himself to take another break to explore his new find instead.  

Reading about charms and amulets for detection of theft and witchcraft, Theon suddenly remembered the necklace hidden in his pocket. He stroked the smooth metal and admired Sansa's sweet face inside of it. He missed talking to her. Even though she would often tease him or suddenly lose her temper when she felt he was in her way. He must remember to ask Jon what was up with her and Margaery.

He clenched the locket tighter as he read on about incantations and curses.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Theon perfectly knew what was expected of him. He was supposed to tell Jon not to buy him any more gifts, and he dreaded the upcoming confrontation all morning. Ramsay had offered him a minimal breakfast, since he hadn't had dinner the day before, but he was unable to eat anything. His stomach almost hurt more than his bruised body and sore muscles. At least Ramsay hadn’t punched his face this time, giving him one awkward topic less to discuss with Jon.

Conveniently Theon and Jon didn't share class for the first couple of hours that day, but he couldn't avoid talking to him in math class just before lunch break. Jon was going to be so hurt by the fact that Theon had yet again accepted Ramsay's command just like that, which would certainly cause Jon to condemn and denigrate Ramsay once more. That put Theon in one of the situations he hated the most, where he would have to apologize, feel guilty and plead for forgiveness, yet still try to defend Ramsay. He knew this situation perfectly well, along with the fact that he would always end up crying, making the situation even more uncomfortable than it already was. Sometimes Jon would show him mercy, hug him and apologize, other times he would storm off feeling upset and powerless. Theon never knew which it would be, so he used the first couple of lessons trying to predict it.

As the bell rang, declaring the class over, Theon's entire body was trembling. His muscles seemed to hurt even more, and a brief, naive voice in his head told him that he might be able to pretend being just sick enough for the school nurse to send him home, if he showed up claiming he wasn't feeling well. Knowing perfectly well that this wasn't a valid possibility at all, he shut the voice out and tried to focus on keeping his body from trembling as he slowly moved down the hall towards another classroom. When he finally reached it, he timidly hid behind the door frame before peeking inside, scanning the room. Jon wasn't there yet.

Theon immediately ran to his seat, put the necessary items on the table, and shoved the rest of his books underneath it. Maybe Jon simply wouldn't notice that he didn't bring the backpack with him. And when class was over, he would run for the door just at Jon was packing up his own stuff, making sure to be out of sight before Jon got up. However, Theon never had to put that plan into use, as Jon’s seat was still empty when the teacher closed the door, indicating that class had begun.

As it dawned on him, halfway into class, that Jon might not show up at all, Theon's nervousness briefly turned into concern, then into panic when he started imagining that Jon might be skipping off because he already knew about the packback and simply didn't want to see Theon.

When the class was over and Jon still hadn’t shown up, Theon walked out into the hallway with his head low. As soon as Ramsay spotted him, he knew something was wrong. “Did you tell Jon to stop giving you stupid gifts?”

Theon shook his head, mumbling, “He didn’t show up for class…”

"I see..." Theon didn't see Ramsay's gloating smirk, but he did feel it. "Well, maybe he finally realized what an ignorant douchebag he is, and is too afraid to confront you. I'm actually starting to think he likes the thought of you getting hurt, since he keeps g....."

Ramsay's speech as well as Theon's looming tears were broken off as a long limbed, fair haired bolt came flying up the staircase leading to the basement and slammed straight into Ramsay. The pale boy wasn't heavy enough to knock sturdy Ramsay over, but his blunder did turn the three of them into a human Newton's Cradle, as Ramsay's quick sidestep caused Theon to trip and fall.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH, JOFF!! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!?”

Joffrey's flight was stopped for a brief moment as he staggered away from Ramsay, trying to regain balance. But before Ramsay could get his hands on the him, Joffrey stammered an apology and took off in a revived sprint down the hall. 

"HEY!!" Theon could swear he heard Ramsay growl from irritation, yet he seemingly didn't bother enough to help Theon get back up. "Fucking Baratheons..."

Theon was still on his knees, picking up his stuff, when Ramsay moved along. Running for it, Theon caught up with him just in time for Ramsay to give another order. "You better fucking eat something for lunch. I'm ordering takeout tonight, but you're not having any, so this will be your final chance to eat today."

 

 

As they settled with the boys in the lunchroom, Theon had regained his appetite, yet he was still anxious over Jon. His mind didn't get much time to dwell on the matter though, as the atmosphere at the table seemed to turn gloomy as soon as Theon and Ramsay sat down. Damon and Alyn only made a short pause before jabbering on about girls and video games, yet Skinner turned completely silent. Ramsay tried to stay focused and way in on the conversation about a new survival horror game, but was clearly annoyed with Skinner's behavior. He hadn't touched his food yet and kept looking over his shoulders. When he finally turned back to his burger and fries, seemingly agreeing with himself that it was now safe to eat, Robb turned up at their table, causing Skinner to leap in his seat. Ramsay looked at him with eyes ready to kill, an expression he decided to keep on his face as he turned to look up at the tall Stark next to him.

Robb tried to pretend he didn't notice, turning directly to Theon instead. "Theon, did you see Sansa today? She didn’t come home after school yesterday, apparently she decided to stay the night at a friends house. I really need to talk to her."

Before Theon could answer, Ramsay spat out, "No, Reek didn’t see her."

Trying on a deadly look, which he didn't succeed in, Robb turned his eyes at the arrogant brat next to Theon. "I wasn’t asking you, Ramsay."

"I know, yet I responded. Neither of us have seen your slutty sister. Perhaps she and Margaery are out searching for a pair of fitting sidewalk spots next to each other. You now, young girls are higher paid. Threesomes too."

The boys, except for Skinner, broke out in hysteric laughter, Damon slamming his hand to the table so hard Theon instinctively reached out to stabilize his glass of water. From the look on Robb's face, Theon was certain he was going to bash Ramsay’s teeth in. Ramsay was gloating as he had clearly hit Robb on a soft spot and was fully aware that Robb would never dare try attacking him with the entire school watching. Not that it would be any problem for Ramsay to knock him out with a single strike if he tried anyway. Robb might be taller, but Ramsay was pure muscle.

Clenching his jaw for control, Robb took a deep breath before continuing. "I have to leave school for today, so if you see her, let her know that I told her to come straight home after school, ok?”

Theon nodded in content before he was able to stop himself and was just about to ask Robb if he knew where Jon was, when Ramsay shut him up with a painful punch to his shoulder. Robb had already spun around and rushed off, most likely for the sake of depriving Ramsay the chance to throw any more degrading remarks at his family.

 

 

Theon tried to relax when he settled down in the classroom after lunch break. Jon still hadn't shown up and by focusing hard on what was going on at the blackboard, he eventually managed to get Jon out of his head for a moment.

However, this state of slight relief was soon spoiled as the school headmaster stepped into the room. After an excuse for interrupting class he announced that all classes for the rest of the day, and for an unknown period of time ahead, were cancelled.

At first people seemed excited and a couple of persons cheered. Everyone started packing up their stuff, but ceased when they noticed the headmaster's anxious expression. When it appeared to them that their teacher seemingly knew something was wrong, but wasn't sure whether to ask about it in front of them, several students demanded an explanation. "Why are classes cancelled exactly? Did something happen?"

The headmaster observed them in silence for a moment, his eyes moving slowly from one student to the next. Finally he cleared his throat and said, "There has been an accident at the school, that's all I'm allowed to tell you at the moment."

 


End file.
